Assassinews 04/07 -- Assassin's Creed III at PAX East

Right, so for those of you who don't know, PAX East took place from the 6th of April to the 8th, during which, a new gameplay demo for Assassin's Creed III was shown. While the demo has not yet hit the internet, screenshots and information about the demo have been released to the general public.

Here's the demo from a story point of view:

It takes place in 1775 during the battle of Bunker Hill, with Connor's mission to assassinate a British official named John Pitcairn, who is also a Templar. As the battle commences, Connor moves throughout the American ranks trying to reach Pitcairn who was at the peak of a hill. Dodging cannon-fire, Connor decides to take a different, more indirect path towards Pitcairn, through the trees. Continuing on his way, Connor comes across a group of Redcoats. Proceeding to slaughter them, Connor continued on towards the British camp. Once there, Connor located Pitcairn and made his way towards him, before using his tomahawk to kill him.

A nice little demonstration. Seeing as the time span of the game is from 1753 to 1783, looks like this was somewhere in the middle, leaning more towards the end.

From a gameplay point of view, from the demo we learn that:

Connor has a different moveset from Ezio and Altaïr. For example, the player can choose to slide under a low hanging branch or vault over it.

Tree gameplay has been shown in-depth, how Connor moves through the trees and how he uses the branches to traverse gaps and such. It was also stated by the developer that the tree climbing mechanism was made to be very realistic and not "Tarzan like".

The hidden blade is in the game and will continue to play a large part in the game, putting to ground the rumors that said the tomahawk would replace the hidden blade.

Demonstration of Ubisoft's new and more powerful game engine that allows them to portray up to 2,500 NPC's on screen at one time.

Demonstration of the new and more fluid combat mechanisms. Multiple-counters were shown as well as a feature that allows Connor to take an enemy hostage, and use him as a human shield.

The hidden gun will also make a reappearance.

New gadgets were also shown in action like the rope dart, which Connor uses to string up his enemies.

New stealth elements have been added. For example, while walking slowly, Connor will automatically move stealthily such as ducking into bushes and staying behind cover. Something known as a Stalking Zone, similar to a hiding spot was unveiled but the details are a bit unclear.

That's about all that was shown in the PAX East 2012 demo, and I'm not sure if the demo will be shown online. Lastly I leave you with some screenshots taken from the demo.